The noise around De'Aaron Fox's contract has gotten louder all summer, but the Spurs were never stumbling into this blind. They knew what they were paying for when they extended him, and they understood the risk that comes with handing out that kind of money. So far, the payoff has been there.
That’s the part too many people skip when they rush to slap the “bad contract” label on him. A truly bad deal either traps a team and boxes it out of future moves, or it ties up money in a player who simply isn’t good enough to justify the cost.
Fox doesn’t fit either description. He’s still a really good player, and San Antonio’s choices this summer make that hard to ignore.
The Spurs extended Julian Champagnie and Victor Wembanyama this summer, added Tobias Harris, and still sit as the favorites, co-favorites, or close favorites to win the championship depending on where you look. They’ve got the deepest roster in the league. Fox wasn’t the piece holding that back.
He also didn’t block their postseason success. San Antonio just went on a deep run that ended in the final round, and Fox started every game he played during it.
He was part of the group that got them through the Western Conference Finals, and just before the Spurs/Knicks series began, he was getting praise for that work. They wouldn’t have made it without him.
What’s changed is the conversation around Dylan Harper. His strong play against New York has naturally shifted attention, and that’s where the real tension sits. Not in the contract itself, but in the possibility that a younger, cheaper player could eventually push Fox down the pecking order.
That’s a normal roster story. Veterans lose jobs to rising talent all the time. It doesn’t automatically turn the veteran into a problem, and it doesn’t make the contract a disaster before that change actually happens.
For now, Fox is still a good player on a team that has gotten better with him in place. If Harper eventually supplants him and Fox is making that much money coming off the bench, then there’s a real conversation to have. Until then, the “bad contract” talk is ahead of the facts.
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Spurs Once Saw Promise In This Warriors Reclamation Project
Charles Basseys path back to a guaranteed NBA job has been anything but straightforward, which is part of why his return to the Warriors is worth a second look for Spurs fans. The 26-year-old big man appeared in only six games for Golden State last season, but the team brought him back anyway, betting on a low-cost interior option who can offer size behind the veteran frontcourt if his body cooperates.
For San Antonio, Basseys name still carries a familiar what-could-have-been feel. The Spurs once saw enough promise to keep him in the mix, but a long injury history quickly changed that conversation, and his career has since been defined as much by recovery as by opportunity. Golden State appears willing to take one more swing, which makes his next stretch of health and availability the real storyline. [Read more 🡒]
Tony Parker Just Added Fuel To A Big Spurs Guard Debate
Tony Parkers voice still carries a little extra weight around San Antonio, and his latest read on the Spurs young backcourt only adds to the buzz surrounding Dylan Harper. The former point guard was upbeat about what he has seen from Harper early on, and he also included Stephon Castle among the young pieces giving the franchise a bright-looking foundation. For a team still sorting out roles and a long-term direction, praise like that from one of its defining guards is bound to land.
The bigger question is where Harper fits once the Spurs continue to balance development with the presence of veteran De'Aaron Fox. Harpers early showing has already sparked a position debate, and Parkers comments only sharpen the conversation by framing the rookie as more than just a promising prospect. If the young guards keep trending up, San Antonio may soon have a crowded but enviable picture in the backcourt, with the toughest decisions still ahead. [Read more 🡒]
Victor Wembanyama Just Got The Spurs Pressure Fans Have Been Waiting For
Victor Wembanyama is heading into the new season with the kind of spotlight most young stars spend years trying to earn, and ESPNs preseason panel has only turned the volume up. The national view is no longer just that he is the face of San Antonios future, but that he is already the front-runner in the leagues most prestigious individual race, a leap that says as much about the expectations around him as it does about his game.
For the Spurs, that attention comes with a broader kind of pressure. ESPNs panel also sees San Antonio as a serious contender to get back to the NBA Finals, which means Wembanyama is carrying franchise hopes on top of the usual supernova hype that follows a generational talent. Comparisons to other stars have only sharpened the standard, and how he handles that burden is becoming part of the story as much as what he does on the floor. [Read more 🡒]